John Otis for NPR
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John Otis for NPR
Jose Paéz (right), who migrated from Venezuela, pleads with a Colombian police officer. He was detained with about 50 other people at a roadblock in Pamplona.
John Otis for NPR
Just three days after crossing the border into Colombia to escape food shortages, joblessness and authoritarian rule in Venezuela, Alexander González says he's shocked by the xenophobia of his adopted homeland.
"Colombians treat Venezuelans badly," says González, 19, as he takes a breather in the Colombian town of Pamplona before setting off on foot for the capital of Bogotá. "They practically spit in our faces."